quick speaker cab question **update** with another dumb ??!!

[theearthisourfeast]

i'm running 2 marshall 1965 4x10's from my triple rec > they are rated for 140 watts on each cabinet. If they are both hooked up does the wattage add up, i.e. can i crank the amp without worrying about blowing them? The amp is 150 watts, the cabs 140, and i usually play at bedroom levels, but every now and then it gets cranked and i cant help but worry that i'm gonna blow something. If i'm running both do i have to worry? i mean is it like running 8 35 watt speakers instaed of 4?

 

[thunda1216]

yep - 280 watts total to reach the max capacity of the cabs...

ty

 

[fluff191]

And more importantly, wattage is such a stupid and misleading method of calculating power handling - it's raw volume that does the damage to speakers, and we all know some 50 watt heads (e.g. Marshall 2204) are about a billion times louder than some 120 watt heads (e.g. Crate Flexwave), and yet if we were to go by power handling, it'd be fine to plug the Marshall into a single V30 and let it roar, but not the Crate, which of course is not the case!

Exactly! Also the reason why a 100 watt Mark combo can have a single 12" speaker.

 

[theearthisourfeast]

so i "accidently" traded the 1965a slant cab for a late 80's/early 90's ampeg 4x12. I know its not a rectifier cab or even similar but at least it can handle the power of the triple rectifier without the speakers going all to hell. Sounds a good deal better, and i'm very happy since the 4x10 was all tore up and spray painted and the ampeg is almost like new (and i traded a saw and $100 for both of them!). So my next dumb question is: is it worth swapping the speakers for some nice celstions and putting them in this cab? The speakers in it have no tags, though they sound "ok" and i'm guessing they're eminence, it seems i can get it set up with decent celestions for under $200. Is it worth doing or should i just save the money till i have enough for a used recto cab and sell the ampeg? And again, thanks for all the help from someone still learning their way around. It is most appreciated...

 

[KH Guitar Freak]

Get a Mesa Stiletto 4X12 straight cab... :mrgreen:

 

[Metaltastic]

Get a Mesa Stiletto 4X12 straight cab... :mrgreen:

Eww, actually, definitely don't IMO - had a slant for a few months, tried valiantly to record it and love it, but it just sounds so closed in, dense, and stuffy, and when I sold it for a Recto cab, I was amazed at how much more open and focused in the mids the Recto cab sounded; I've never looked back!

 

[KH Guitar Freak]

Get a Mesa Stiletto 4X12 straight cab... :mrgreen:

Eww, actually, definitely don't IMO - had a slant for a few months, tried valiantly to record it and love it, but it just sounds so closed in, dense, and stuffy, and when I sold it for a Recto cab, I was amazed at how much more open and focused in the mids the Recto cab sounded; I've never looked back!

In my case, my mids were more midscooped, and I couldn't put up with the added loose low end. Standard sized cab FTW!!!

 

[Metaltastic]

I found the mids to be excessive (hence the stuffiness/denseness) on the Stiletto/Traditional and the Recto to just be more balanced/clear, rather than scooped, and I wouldn't say any of the tones in this thread sound overly scooped! And as for the lows, it's all about the bass knob on the amp and the almighty Tube Screamer!

I did a comparison between my old Stiletto and my Rectifier cab, check it out here! (and apologies for the tone, that was before I realized that treble above 12:00 on a 2 ch. = DEATH :shock: )

 

[KH Guitar Freak]

I found the mids to be excessive (hence the stuffiness/denseness) on the Stiletto/Traditional and the Recto to just be more balanced/clear, rather than scooped, and I wouldn't say any of the tones in this thread sound overly scooped! And as for the lows, it's all about the bass knob on the amp and the almighty Tube Screamer!

I did a comparison between my old Stiletto and my Rectifier cab, check it out here! (and apologies for the tone, that was before I realized that treble above 12:00 on a 2 ch. = DEATH :shock: )

I use mine with a Roadster, and no, I don't always use the Tube Screamer, especially for regular cleans on channel 1. That's reserved mostly for my SRV butchering. When I used mine with a Recto cab in Tweed mode, the bass knob was pointless to have. Anyway, the Recto cabs aren't super scooped, it's just that it's more scooped than my standard size cab. Also, I find my tone cuts thru the mix better, and it tracks tighter as well. But hey, no one is wrong... 8)

 

[theearthisourfeast]

i'll definately be getting a recto cab at some point, probably just not anytime soon, and i know that most of you guys think most other cabs aren't worth screwing with. I'm just looking for opinions about putting a few hundred dollars in speakers into the ampeg 4x12 to get me by until i have the money for a recto. As far as speaker cabinet sound, how much is from the speakers and how much is from the box design/size/material?

 

[Metaltastic]

I use mine with a Roadster, and no, I don't always use the Tube Screamer, especially for regular cleans on channel 1. That's reserved mostly for my SRV butchering. When I used mine with a Recto cab in Tweed mode, the bass knob was pointless to have. Anyway, the Recto cabs aren't super scooped, it's just that it's more scooped than my standard size cab. Also, I find my tone cuts thru the mix better, and it tracks tighter as well. But hey, no one is wrong... 8)

True that, and maybe if I played something other than balls to the wall high gain metal every minute a guitar is in my hands, I might feel differently!

But to the OP, yeah dude, grab 4x V30s on ebay (not worth buying new unless you spend the slightly extra for V30s from Mesa's website IMO, cuz by many accounts they're made slightly differently by Celestion specifically for Mesa, and I know I love the results!) But if you're in North America, Recto cabs in excellent condition can be had for ~$500 all the time on craigslist (or ebay, but not many wanna ship, and I've had two cabs cracked in shipping, so I don't really want them to ship to me either! :shock: ), so I really would just hold out for one if you're already budgeting to spend at least $300 for 4x V30s for this Ampeg!

 

[theearthisourfeast]

You're probably right about holding out for the recto. I wouldnt buy one off ebay and i've been searching craigslist within a hundred miles for the last few months but they dont turn up often, and when they do they aint $500 around here. $600 is the cheapest i've seen and not so great shape either. But i'll probably just hold out since the money for the speakers plus selling the ampeg would likely get me close. Another question: The ampeg has a jack on the back to run another cabinet off of. When running 2 cabs this way (as opposed to using the jacks on the amp) what does it do to impedence? And do the speakers have to be rated the same or can i run the 4 ohm ampeg off the amp jack and then piggy back the 8 ohm marshall off the back of the ampeg? Not that i would nessecarily do it that way, i'm just curious. Cheers for the advice guys. I've played through **** equipment up until now and I am freakin loving every minute of the learmimg curve...

 

[theearthisourfeast]

well i blew 2 of the speakers in the ampeg and it's only been 5 days!!!! since i dont have the $$$ for a recto cab i guess i'll be getting some new speakers. Found some celestion g12t100's for scratch and dent for $50 each w/ shipping so i think i'll just fill er up and see how it sounds. Should get me by for a while, and at least i wont have to worry about blowing them again. Anyone play with the t100's?

 

[theearthisourfeast]

Dont know if anyone is reading these posts but i'll post agin anyhow. The t-100's are 4 ohm and the ampeg cab has 16 ohm speakers right now. No problem except that they are run through some kind of circuit board i guess so you can switch between 4 and 16 ohms. They're wired in two sets of two parallell to the printed board which i guess decides wether it's running straight paralell for 16 ohms or some other configuration for 4. How can i wire the 4 ohms in series to get 16 ohms without bypassing the printed circuit board all together? anyone?

 

[thunda1216]

You can wire it for a single 16 ohm load if using four 4 ohm speakers by wiring the speakers in series. Hook the Positive from the amp output to the (+) terminal of the first speaker. Then jump wire from the (-) terminal of this speaker to the (+) of the next speaker and so on until the last speaker's (-) terminal is connected to the negative/ground of the amp output.

ty

 

[theearthisourfeast]

i know how to wire it in series. it's the printed circuit board and switching thats throwing me off. I know i could by pass it, but i'd like to keep it switchable, and close to original for that matter as i'll probably sell it in the near future. Is that possible with a cab like this?